There was once a famous song composed and performed worldwide by the King of Songs, who gained the title of King of Music.
His rise to fame in his early twenties garnered him immense popularity and wealth, allowing him to travel between venues biannually.
The first song he published was one by the name of Giants Requiem, telling the tale of the day the man obliterated a race from existence.
For over one hundred years, the giants had a peaceful relationship with humans, often providing them with rare delicacies from the mountains or even warding off rogue sea terrors that wandered to shore.
In an era before the Sea Kings, they were guardians and protectors who, while bearing the name of a terror, cared for humans.
Most giants inhabited the southernmost regions of the Sea of Songs, dwelling in ravenous cliffs and caves.
Instead of eating flesh, they survived off of undersea volcanic activity, absorbing the heat and turning it into energy.
It was a taxing solution and one that left them weakened; however, it was a small price to pay for being able to live alongside humanity.
This coexistence lasted many decades, only coming into contention after the appearance of the King of Songs.
Overnight, without any explanation or warning, he executed over two thousand giants who had been aiding humanity for generations.
None of the other Sea Kings took issue with this genocide; however, the Oceanic Association, by will of the people, forced a trial upon the King.
Outraged at this response, the musical man took it upon himself to tell the world of his reasons.
The song Giants Requiem is a short piece of music that became a worldwide phenomenon after the message was spread.
It spoke of a time in which the King ventured into the domain of giants, undercover, of course, observing their behavior.
He kept up this act for an entire year before discovering a secret that shocked him to his very core.
While giants themselves could survive off the volcanic fumes produced from the planet's surface, they could not sustain their mana cores this way.
It was a factor humanity had overlooked and one that, when thought about, led to the revelation of the century.
These 'peaceful giants' weren't as friendly as they pretended to be, with thousands of humans having been devoured in the pursuit of magical growth.
The King's song spread far and wide, gathering the attention of the other Sea Kings, who swiftly executed the giants that lurked within their own territory.
In total, three thousand four hundred and nine of these lumbering beasts were killed, leading to an extinction event like no other.
It was with this in mind that, as the ground shook upon the small island in the middle of a Dream Patch, a creature defying death appeared.
A devastating earthquake sent shockwaves across the sea with rock and stone flying in every direction as the creature broke ground.
Its grotesque red hand shot forth, destroying the house of bones in an instant, causing their remains to fall into a living sinkhole.
The strange white stalactites that Raphael had once stared at with confusion had begun to move and crunch at the earth itself, grinding it to dust with teeth the size of elephants.
Saliva dripped from its lips, landing on its hairy, red chest that was coated in scar tissue and bloodied scratches.
With a powerful roar, the monster burst from the hole, its eyes meeting the morning light for the first time in years.
Two deep slashmarks hung heavily over the eyelids, signaling the giant's weakness, blindness, a curse it had suffered during the hunts of its own species.
The creature was one of the last survivors of the murderous tribe of giants from the Sea of Songs.
When it had arrived in the Sea of Dreams, it buried itself underground, sucking on the remains of thermal vents for decades.
Falling into a deep slumber, the monster's presence was almost completely erased, preventing hunters or other terrors from locating it.
This method of self-preservation had worked for many years; however, when a Dream Patch formed around the small island, it brought unwanted guests.
Dormyrrs had been lured to the island, with the creatures unknowingly building a city of human remains right above the giant's nest.
The scent of fresh food lured the creature awake, stirring the giant into consciousness, where it dug its way to the surface.
Without its vision, it had decided to lie only slightly below the surface, allowing its mouth to become a one-way ticket to hell for any who dared enter.
Wandering magenta wisps found such a crater in the ground, leading to much confusion among the species.
Deciding that the scent of a lifeform exuded from the pit, hordes of the terrors ventured into the cave, leaving only eight remaining on the outside to protect their village.
As days passed and they did not return, the last surviving group sensed a human life on the coast, awakening their urge for flesh once again.
Not once did they mourn their lost brethren, only seeing it as survival of the fittest.
This marked the arrival of the hunter Raphael von Steinfeste, whose very fate now rested within a creature said to be extinct from the world.
…
Raphael's face was knotted in confusion as he stared at the dream demon ahead of him, who had taken on the appearance of the blond-challenger he despised the most.
Its words were laced with truths that not even the white-haired noble could deny, forcing him into a state of realization.
"How in the lord's name am I supposed to escape this wretched place then!?"
The boy's voice echoed through the illusory chamber created due to the digested remains of the various Dormyrrs devoured by the giant.
"Can't…"
It was a simple word, spoken in a voice that sent shivers down his spine and made his blood run cold.
The voice of his father and the patriarch of the Steinfeste family, who had chucked him aside in place of his ever-so-perfect brother.
While the creature meant no harm in speaking, it infuriated the white-haired boy to no end as he stared at the turquoise eyes laced with sorrow.
Bllrrp…
The sound of something thick and liquid resounded through his ears, forcing the Dormyrr to wince and visibly warp forms.
Its hair began to deteriorate, turning gray, while its skin pooled and melted as it succumbed to digestion.
This creature had been in the belly of the beast far longer than Raphael, and it would be leaving this place before him as well.
There wasn't any time left for questions, leaving a knot in the boy's stomach as he grappled with the inevitability of his own demise.
Only as another voice tugged at his subconscious did he look up at the melting terror before him, whose face was as cold and rigid as any monster in the world.
For a second, its form shifted, turning into a beautiful woman with long strands of white hair that were intricately laced.
Liquid-gold eyes that sparkled like holy light flickered beneath her expression with a smile as bright as the sun painting her face.
"Survive… Raphael…"
Two words.
It only spoke two words, yet the boy crumbled under the memory that surfaced alongside the soothing voice.
His mother was the only person who had ever cared for him as more than a political tool in this wretched world.
Reaching out his hand to touch the woman's perfected reflection, the Dormyrr simply melted into nothingness, vanishing along with his mother into death.
Something inside him broke at that moment, whether it be his upbringing, being forced to fight, conditioned to hate, or ordered to die, he felt himself change.
Looking downward at the creature's remains, a thin ball of magenta light caught his eye, forcing a solemn expression across his face.
I-Its core…
The thought of the exam had been pushed so far back in his mind that the idea of bringing back the core of a regular Dormyrr had completely slipped his memory.
But now, he had both the core and a reason for not collecting the bodies of the missionaries.
If he escaped now, he would advance in the guild and be one step closer to his dream, the one that propelled him forward.
His only hope for freedom was the very same magic he had depleted earlier that day against the eight dream demons.
With this, however…
Staring at the translucent sphere that sat within his hands, he felt the mana course through his body, dragging his vision into a blur.
An idea had crossed his mind; it was his only hope, and if it failed, then he would surely be trapped here until death.
「Staphreus」
With the remaining ounces of mana that had regenerated within his core, he could barely even sustain his staff summon for long enough to achieve his goal.
Moving hastily, he grabbed the metallic sphere that rested atop his staff only to replace it with the glowing core left by the deceased creature.
Fiddling around, he nearly dropped the original sphere that amplified any magical power cast into the staff; though, he barely managed to recover it and finish the job.
Slamming the staff into the fake soil, he began to mutter words of ancient languages under his breath.
Prayers and offerings were usually exchanged; however, in this scenario, he could only wish upon his life.
Raphael opened his mouth to speak, the core of the Dormyrr pulsing and vibrating as the mana ejected from its center, surrounding the staff in a flash of light.
「Arcanus」